RAILROADS IN PHOTOS AND PAINTING

narrow-gauge r.r. in the harz-mountains ( germany ) still running as a tourist train .

That's a great shot, hbg. As you know there are Canadian Steam Engines still operating - and, as well, in Washington State. The movie industry gets some really oldies from somewhere.

Good stuff - thanks.

here is a link to CANADIAN LOCOMOTIVE COMPANY

http://www.trainweb.org/oldtimetrains/clc/clc.htm

pictures , stories ... ...

the CLC operated right in the downtown area until the mid-sixties - with a spur-line going to the main-line .

a teaser :

and another teaser from the CLC :

Thanks, hbg. That's a great tour of history. It's just amazing to me how advanced steam power became. Then, of course, it was easier and cheaper to produce gas powered machines - including diesel, which is the easiest and cheapest gas to produce. Wood fires were reduced to tiny sticks that flamed and made the gas go "Bang". Actually, it is harder than hell to light diesel with a match - I worked in the oil drilling business as a roughneck during 1961 to 63 - and during the winter we would lite big cans of diesel to keep warm. It was not easy to lite.

didnt your crew learn nothin about diesel? One of the Best ways to set it off would be to really hit it with a hammer on a steel plate (like a girder section) Then just dip a piece of cardboard intro iot and transfer that to your tub.

Never heard of that solution, farmer !!! Sounds like the hammer would change the molecular/chemistry of the fluid. After all, there is some highly combustible fluid in diesel. The lower temps produce diesel and in the same distillation tower the higher temps produce gasoline. Oil is usually at the bottom of the barrell - so to speak. I've got a 5 gal can of diesel - will try on an old piece of railroad that I still have laying around. (((How's that for a segway - or, segue. grin))) My Mom kept a few cut outs of rails to use as door stops.

Whew!! Just had a gnat fly into the screen of my computer - I have the TouchSmart screen and the gnat made the screen spark and the cursor jumped to the spot where the gnat sparked the screen. WOW.

diesel is primarily set off by compression. Ive seen where a swab of flannel is soaked in diesel and then hit with a hard hit. The primary component of diesel is a complex ester derived from fatty acids that have the glycerol removed, so esters are compressibly ignited in most cases.
If ones burning kero, thats different, anway, kero will ignite fairly easily with a match.

That's right about the Kerosene - it is what was used in the old Coal-oil lamps. Started right up with the touch of a match. I have quite a few of those old things laying around including some of the Aladdins. And, believe it or not, a box full of the old Mantles that made the lamp brighter. My Mom passed away a few years ago and let me tell you - she was a packrat. I still have my WWII ration cards that were left over. In fact I have a box full of M1 rifle bullets with late WWII dates stamped on the back of each one.

Diesel engines use compression to ignite the fuel - no spark plugs. The fuel is also closely related to Aviation Jet Fuel. Those engines have igniters that get the fuel going really quickly. I have several thousand hours in turbo-props and helicopters. The aircraft were all painted green - and, had a lot of guns on them. But, were all fun to fly.

So, you flew for John Deere?

Yeah, J Deere, sure hope those tracers don't hit me - some hit my aircraft, but, none hit me - soooo I'm a J Deere fan !! Poppin Johnny all the way !!!!!!

As you well know, Poppin Johnny is the old "ONE" cylinder type. And, for those who don't know - you DON'T place your thumbs INSIDE the steering wheel because of the two front wheel being so close together there would be a bone breaking force on the steering wheel if the front wheels hit a big clump of hard dirt !!!! Been there - rode one - see it - done them - er, something like that..... GRIN

hmm, I must be from the next generation. All the tractors Ive had were wide stance front wheels with Power steering. (and ROPS)
The old farmers were hard to kill , the new ones, not so much.

Here's a pic of the one I rode - er, survived........

while looking for the pic I found the engine is TWO cylinders. It looked like one to me when I first saw the tractor.

We have several "Rough and Tumble" meets at the steam museum in Paradise Pa, every year. Last year we had several of just Deere equip and Deere "hit and miss" engines.

I had a McCormick Deering that I restored and powder coated. I sold it last year for the amazing sum of 5K$ (amazing to me anyway)

I found an old Fordson and Im working on getting the owner to sell. Itll need a lot of work and I have a wooden boat project going in the shed so itll have to go into a storage mode till Im done with the boat.

By the way, FM--cool thread, i've been enjoying it.

thanks, ANy steam train lines up along the canals?

I haven't made any study of it, Boss--there certainly were in the 19th century, when the Welland Canal was a major means of by-passing the Niagara Falls. But i doubt if steam is still used--there's no cheap fuel source nearby. There are coal-burning power plants in Ontario, but the coal is bought from the United States. I would suspect that on a cost basis, it's cheaper to use diesel than to burn coal on the railways.

OHH Fuudge.

Back in the early 50s, there were still coal burners on the lines, and the only time you would hear my grandmother swear would be when she had laundry out on the line, and a train approached town. She knew the regularly scheduled trains, being the station master's wife, but that doesn't mean that she knew when all the trains would appear. The railroad men knew her, of course, as they knew my grandfather--most of them would come to a stop outside of town, before entering the yard, to give her a chance to get her laundry inside before they came in belching soot and cinders. They were all diesel, if my recollection is correct, by 1960.